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Raspberry Pi Basic Configuration

The Raspberry Pi is a small Linux computer designed to help children learn programming. Being a full Linux System, it can also be used as a server or as the basis for various projects.

Here are some adjustments you might want to make to a new Raspberry Pi. The examples refer to a Raspberry Pi Model “B” bought from UK distributors New IT in February 2013. But they are pretty universal.

Raspberry Pi Configuration

After the Pi boots up you may see the “Raspi-config” screen, a simple configuration menu. If not, you can get to the screen by typing “sudo /usr/bin/raspi-config” at the terminal. Rasp-config looks like this:

Select the following items:

1. Change the password for ‘pi’ user. Select this option, follow the instructions, type a sensible password (twice) that you will remember.

2. expand_rootfs. It is desirable to enlarge the root file system to fill the whole SD card supplied with the Pi. For example, Raspberry Pis supplied as part of a New IT bundle come with an SD card of size 4 Gb or larger. But the file system contained on the card is only 2 Gb or a bit smaller. To make use of all that space, run the raspi-config programme again and select the expand_rootfs option. Follow the instructions and reboot the system when asked to do so. When the system boots, there will be a short delay while the file system is expanded, along with some messages like this:

3. Enable ssh server. Having ssh enabled will allow you to access the Raspberry Pi from your other computers. Select the option, follow the instructions to enable the ssh server. Afterwards, you can log in to the Pi with ssh (from Linux) or putty (or similar) from Windows.

That’s enough of Raspi-config for now. The following changes are made using the terminal…

Fix up the TV Output

If you connect the Pi to an old-fashoned (CRT) TV and see only black and white output, you are probably seeing an NTSC image. UK users should change that to PAL (the UK TV standard) as follows:

Edit the file /boot/config.txt and set sdtv_mode to “2”. That is, change this line:

Fix up TV Picture Size

If using an old fashioned (CRT) TV, you may see that the edges of the display are invisible because the picture is too big. If so, edit /boot/config.txt again. Change this line

#disable_overscan=1
to
disable_overscan=0

and reboot the Pi. You should see the whole picture now.

Fix up HDMI Output

If you are using a monitor with the Pi, it is desirable to use the right resolution. For example, these config.txt settings set the resolution to 1680×1050 at 60 Hz, just right for my HP w2007 monitor: